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Re: Ricoh GX100

H A P P Y - B " D A Y - C H R I S T I

Looks like you have already put the present to very good use. I like the first one, particularly the angle of view combined with the fact that the person near the rail is turning back which connects us with the figure on the other side. There is also another figure who seems to be turning slightly towards the one looking back. There is a twisting back against the general movement of the photo and once we are pushed back we are once again propelled forward. Very nice.

Re: Ricoh GX100

Christi Mac
I like the shots you posted <snip> Edit; the Minox 35 are great little cameras, aren't they?

Thanks Lili - I've come back to them today and am still pleased with the first two which is always a good sign . and yes the Minox 35s are stunners imo - mine was my little baby for a very long time.

Originally Posted by jonoslack

HI Christi
I love the first two shots (especially the first). The PP looks pretty good to me.

Thanks Jono - it's a relief to hear that - I still haven't gotten round to calibrating the monitor on my newly "flattened" system. Always a worry that others aren't seeing the shots the way you are.

Originally Posted by wbrandsma

Congratulations Christi <snip > The light is stunning, especially in the second photo.

Thanks Wouter - that shot was really me experimenting. i wanted to see if I could come up with the style of square format shot that I used to gravitate towards with my old Mamiya 6 MF - the answer would appear to be yes which pleases me greatly as it has implications for a series I had been working on until a couple of years ago when the Mamiya flew the nest.

cmb_

Thanks for that - I took several shots from there waiting for some kind of pleasing pattern to appear. the glances are a happy accident that I only really noticed in LightRoom but you're right it does really help the eye to move around the image imo.

It's been a real boost to get these comments from you folks... expect more shots soon

Jono - I really like the landscape. I can imagine that stack of gaffer-taped* filters right now as if it were the mid 1990s once again.

*don't know about anyone else - but gaffer tape was probably my most used piece of photographic equipment. We built entire studios out of the stuff - to the point where we referred to it as "Dark Matter", the stuff that binds the universe together...

Re: Ricoh GX100

Originally Posted by wbrandsma

What is you occumpation and what brings you to Klundert? The harbour of Moerdijk is nearby.

Hi Wouter
I'm not sure what an occumpation is, but I suspect you want to know that I have a software package which I wrote, and which I supply to engineering companies. So, actually I'm going to the industrial estate between Klundert and Moerdijk (I didn't know there was a harbour there though).

Re: Ricoh GX100

Re: Ricoh GX100

Well these are the last of my tests - I'm very happy with the thing now and I reckon I've probably shot around 500 images since I got the camera on Thursday. It really has freed me up and in some ways made me realise that jumping on the 4/3 bandwagon early ( I still have my e-300 slr, but not for long ) was a mistake purely in terms of my process. It's been refreshing coming back to 3:2 and 1:1 format and there's definitely something about those formats that speaks *through* me more than the 4:3 in my Oly has.

It's not that I don't like other peoples work in other formats but I just can't see in them myself. Psychology eh...? Crazy thing.

Re: Ricoh GX100

Fantastic work... you guys are the GX-100 Kings! (can that be made to rhyme with Gypsie Kings?)

Hey Wouter, you once said that given a 2nd choice, you'd have bought a GRD-2 instead of GX-100 (if it had been available at the time). But so many of your superb shots are taken at 24mm... do you still think you'd prefer the GRD-2?

Re: Ricoh GX100

I still think I would have bought the GRDII if it was available. But I would probably also buy the GW-1 wide conversion lens. The GX100 lens is beautiful and versatile (though I personally use the 50mm as my maximum focal length). But the lens is also my biggest concern. The GX100 has far more dust problems in my opinion than any other compact camera and I think the lens is the weakest part.
But I must also say I love the output of the GX100. The raw files are great and I found a good technique to get the look I want.

Re: Ricoh GX100

Thanks everyone - got to say I love the the way the GX100 handles tone. I think I barely spent more than 3 or 4 minutes in LR for any single one of those shots.

Originally Posted by wbrandsma

Absolutely stunning photos Christ Mac! I also prefer framing with the 3:2 format. You shoot jpeg now or have you already tried the RAW files?

Wouter, I'm still shooting Jpeg at the moment. I've been treating it a bit like slide photography back in the day - get the exposure spot on and know exactly what you want to with the highlights from before you press the shutter button. That approach seems to work well for the GX100 in a very dynamic environment such as the shopping centre above.

Now that I'm getting more comfortable with framing via the back screen I reckon I'll move to RAW and take a less scatter-shot approach. That shot you posted is beautiful and has precisely the kind of tone I'm looking to work with. I take it that's RAW you're working with there. Are you doing anything specific with your process to compress the tonal range? Or are you picking the right day for your shots... back in my medium / large format days I used to love shooting on dull days and then spreading those tonal zones around the image

As for the GRDII - I was tempted but like Wouter it wasn't available at the time - plus I really wanted that step zoom and 50 mm prime equivalent. I'm certainly not disappointed in the slightest with the choice - but having read this forum first I always make sure I have the lens cap on when I'm wandering around.

Re: Ricoh GX100

I almost entirely work with RAW. I use Lightoom to process my RAW files. For every region I want to adjust (like, sky, trees, foreground, or anything specifically) I make a virtual copy and adjust the images to my likings. For the B&W conversion I never use the grayscale option, but always first desaturate all the colours. For I drag all the saturation sliders to -100 and adjust the luminance sliders to get the result I want. I than export all the virtual copies to 16 bit TIFFS. I layer my image in Photoshop and use masks to blend everything digitally. After that I use some extra curves in Photoshop for further local adjustments. I don't sharpen and denoise my images in Lightroom. I do all my sharpening in Photoshop instead (no noisereduction applied).

Maybe in a year of two I might buy the GRDII as an end of life product

Re: Ricoh GX100

fantastic photos, Christi and Wouter! beautiful tonality!!!

Wouter -- you know i just get lost in your images all the time so i won't do my usual gushing as it's so redundant. you are the master!

Christi -- since you're still shooting JPEG, you definitely made the right decision in going with the GX100. the original GRD was king, but the GX100 is no slouch. the GRDII still uses NR (even when it is switched off) and the JPEGs can get artifacts and lose detail in chunks of solid colours that is truly annoying. (for example, that black coat in the second pic of yours. it could easily have gotten mucked with the GRDII JPEG. then again, you are much more careful with your exposure than i ever am as i shoot on the fly.)

Re: Ricoh GX100

Originally Posted by wbrandsma

I almost entirely work with RAW. I use Lightoom to process my RAW files. For every region I want to adjust (like, sky, trees, foreground, or anything specifically) I make a virtual copy and adjust the images to my likings. For the B&W conversion I never use the grayscale option, but always first desaturate all the colours. For I drag all the saturation sliders to -100 and adjust the luminance sliders to get the result I want. I than export all the virtual copies to 16 bit TIFFS. I layer my image in Photoshop and use masks to blend everything digitally. After that I use some extra curves in Photoshop for further local adjustments. I don't sharpen and denoise my images in Lightroom. I do all my sharpening in Photoshop instead (no noisereduction applied).

Maybe in a year of two I might buy the GRDII as an end of life product

That's brilliant info - exactly the kind of process I think I would plump for myself as it replicates very closely the complex masking and burning process I used in the darkroom. I'll have a play with that system Wouter

Beautiful shot there too

Originally Posted by cam

fantastic photos, Christi and Wouter! beautiful tonality!!!

Wouter -- you know i just get lost in your images all the time so i won't do my usual gushing as it's so redundant. you are the master!

Christi -- since you're still shooting JPEG, you definitely made the right decision in going with the GX100. the original GRD was king, but the GX100 is no slouch. the GRDII still uses NR (even when it is switched off) and the JPEGs can get artifacts and lose detail in chunks of solid colours that is truly annoying. (for example, that black coat in the second pic of yours. it could easily have gotten mucked with the GRDII JPEG. then again, you are much more careful with your exposure than i ever am as i shoot on the fly.)

The fact that it's still there even when you switch it off would really annoy me I think. I'll be moving towards RAW now but the write times are slow *and* RAW isn't available in 1:1 with the GX100 yet, so for a lot of my stuff I feel Jpeg may still be the way forward for me - especially street work.

Re: Ricoh GX100

Just ordered my Ricoh GX100

Hi,

I just ordered my Ricoh GX-1000 and I'm really looking forward to it ! I got 2*4Gb Extreme III cards because 3*2Gb wasn't cheaper. Also ordered: a Domke F-945 to store it (+ some other stuff) in. Coming up next: Leica SBOOI (for the connoisseurs): a 50mm viewfinder. And probably a Nexto Multi 1 to backup my flash cards. Being the fastest backup device and with very good support at only €95 (I still have a hard disk laying around), it's a steal.

I'm slightly nervous ! This will be my first digital camera after a period of rangefinders

Re: Ricoh GX100

Hi,
I am a new owner of the GX100. Some of my first test shots were in a dark bar, waiting for my shrimp scampi to go. Using ISO 800 B&W. You may look here at 3 shots here. http://antara11.blogspot.com/
I am beginning a series on street photography of Main Street in Santa Monica. Its an interesting combination of many characters, from the homeless to the raw fooders, to the artists, to the well to do new mothers and babies, to the bicyclists with yoga mats, etc.
The color photos are from the Olympus 8080, which I no longer have. Click to enlarge. Comments welcome.

I am eager to participate in this forum. Have been studying and admiring the work and experience here. I posted in the dpreview Ricoh forum a histogram question and got little response. If any of you would care to look and comment, I would appreciate it. http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...hread=27366631
Best,
Antara

Re: Ricoh GX100

Thank you very much, Jeff. I also like your work very much.

I use FixFoto, a cheap and easy german program. I am not a great pp crack. For my b/w pictures, I usually just use the Automatic Image Optimizing (there are various options - some are add-ons - the one I use mostly is called i2e). Afterwards, I use the add-on Monochromix, which allows to darken (and lighten) the shadows, adjust the mid-tones and brighter areas and you also can change the gradation and some other things.
If the photo is in colour, you can try different filters or preset filmlike simulations in this add-on.

Anyway, I don't like the program for RAW files. So I use different ones for the RAW conversion. But after shooting in RAW in the first months, now I almost always shoot in jpgs (in b/w). I noticed, that my RAW conversion skills are not good enough to get significantly better results in RAW in about 90% of the cases (percentage is estimated ;-) ).
Many times, I have blown highlights, but I even had them in RAW sometimes. I am not sure if this is due to the harsh light (I often shoot at noon) or if it is due to my way of exposure (I mostly prefer to adjust it for the people rather than for the sky).

Something I really like about FixFoto is, that you can upgrade to new versions without having to pay again.

Edit: It looks like FixFoto is called PhotoPerfect in english... But I am not sure if it is exactly the same.

Re: Ricoh GX100

I've been inspired by the many wonderful photos appearing in this forum to do a bit more photography, so here are a few shots I've taken with a Ricoh GX100. The black-and-white ones were processed in Lightzone using two variants of the recipes described by Mitch either here or in the Ricoh Forum on DPReview, then a bit of tweaking in Photoshop.
The shots were taken in Western Australia; those with the big rocks and the ocean and the cafe scene were taken in Perth; the three girls jumping and the dead tree were taken in the south-west corner of WA.

Re: Ricoh GX100

I haven't been using my GX100 much lately but I had it in the car with me yesterday and saw these pigeons. Luckily I had it set on snap focus so I managed to catch the flight. Not the best shot ever, but illustrates the advantage of being able to always have a camera to hand.